Jacob Trant, a government inspector of ranches and their herds, is in residence at the X Bar X ranch. The boys, with several of the hands, are out gathering strays and herding their best shorthorns for shipment, when they meet a stranger, wounded and weak. In what the punchers conclude is delirium, he describes a band of outlaws who have set up in a valley distinguished by smoke and flame, and inhabited by "red monkeys" and giants who ride horses the size of elephants. Then a second stranger rides up and describes the same phenomena, adding a warning that the smoky valley is a good place to stay away from. These elements come together when the X Bar X, quickly followed by the 8 X 8, lose sizable numbers of their best shorthorns to rustlers, and the punchers of both ranches set out to recapture their prize cattle.

Writing: 5
Characterization: 5
Plot: 5
Overall score: 5